The End of the Matter
by hellhound-d.o.w
Summary: Set after the failed wedding at the end of the manga.  Possible OOC.  No matchups in this one. Revised first chapter and added second.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma 1/2. The curses and names for them were made up by me as far as I know, but I still won't lay claim to them either.

All criticism is welcome, however, if you are going to try and flame me, at least be original. There are only so many times you can be told, "You Suck!!!" before it gets boring.

A/N: Only made this because even a pitiless SOB like me has pity for Ranma and want a little vengeance for him. Plus I couldn't continue my other story till I got this one out of my head… hate when that happens. Oh, yeah, this is based after the final wedding attempt stated in the manga. If someone appears OOC, eh, it happens.

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Ranma Saotome sat on the roof of the Tendo home staring into the night sky without seeing it. It had been four months since the failed wedding.

He hadn't expected things to go back to normal, whatever that might be, but he had at least hoped for an apology from someone for everything going wrong. True, he hadn't really wanted to marry her at the time, he still considered himself too young for that, but it hadn't been their decision to make. Now he still had the problem with the honor of the entire situation. As if that wasn't enough, his growing despair at the problem was slowly causing the Neko-ken to rise more easily to the surface in him, even without a cat around. He couldn't save the honor of the girls he doesn't choose, and that would leave a stain on his honor. However he couldn't run away, it just wasn't in him to do that. His feelings for Akane had swiftly disappeared after the wedding and the threat she made during it. He still cared for them all and didn't want to see anyone hurt, but he was sure he didn't love her anymore. To top it all off, everyone he cared about kept getting hurt. Mostly because he was around them when he was attacked. He didn't see anyway to stop that from happening by staying here, and no matter how good he was, he couldn't be everywhere at once. Plus if he did run away, someone would use one of them to get him to come back. No, the only way to end this all honorably was to commit seppuku. He didn't want to die, but the Arts taught to protect the weak. He couldn't do that if his living put them in danger…

As he thought that last thought, he saw a flash of light as a shooting star moved across the sky heading east.

Maybe the old temple to the east of Nerima would be a good spot, no one with the exception of Ryoga would be able to find me and stop me. So be it, tomorrow at dusk, I will do it.

With that, he jumped down from the roof and went to his bed to sleep.

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Kasumi awoke early the next morning to begin the daily routine of preparing everything for breakfast. As she entered the restroom, she was startled to see the furo already filled and heated. She then heard movement down in the kitchen. Concerned, she went to see who it could be at this time of morning and was even more startled to see Ranma in the kitchen preparing breakfast. As she entered, Ranma looked at her.

"Good morning, Kasumi."

"Good morning, Ranma, what are you doing up so early?"

"I just decided that you needed a break this morning. If you want, you can give me pointers as I'm not the best at this, but other than that, you can't help."

She was shocked. No one had done this for her before, and the smile on his face. It wasn't his usually confident grin. It looked forced. And determined.

"Okay, Ranma, if you insist…"

He didn't need the advice, she saw. He knew his way around the kitchen quite well and seemed to be adding just the right amount of spice to everything. She was concerned, though, as to what caused him to look and act like this, it was so unlike him to have an expression like that. She pushed her concern to the side when she heard the sounds of others in the house getting up. It sounded like Mr. Saotome was the first, followed closely by her father. Akane was the third person she heard, and Nabiki…still hadn't moved. She went to set the table while Ranma was cooking.

As she was setting it, Soun Tendo came downstairs to sit and read the paper. It had been a long night out with Genma, drinking and scheming to combine the schools. They hadn't come up with anything that they hadn't already tried, or that would even come close to working. Seeing Kasumi setting the table was different, but he didn't think about it too much. That is until Ranma walked out of the kitchen carrying the food. This did nothing but confuse him as Ranma usually sparred with Genma in the mornings. That, and Ranma was usually hard to wake up, requiring either a kick from Genma or a bucket of cold water from Akane. The smell of the food, though, enticed the others downstairs.

Genma was first downstairs when the smell of the food reached him, all thoughts of Ranma not being in his futon gone. Akane came down a few minutes later. Nabiki finally stumbled downstairs, grumbling and rubbing her eyes. After good mornings all around, one of which more grunted than spoken, most noticed that it was Ranma serving out the food instead of Kasumi. Genma spoke nothing of it when food was placed in front of him. Akane was about to say something, but the forced smile on Ranma's face stopped her. Nabiki never even noticed. Breakfast was, for once, quiet, with no yelling's, no beatings, and no insults. This concerned Akane, Soun, Genma, Kasumi, and was what snapped Nabiki out of her morning stupor. Genma was especially concerned, even if he didn't show it while stealing Ranma's food off of his plate. All were concerned because Ranma wasn't reacting to the theft of said food. He just sat and quietly ate what food wasn't being stolen. Kasumi was the first to speak at this sight.

"Ranma, are you sure you are okay?"

He looked startled for a second as he looked at her.

"Of course, Kasumi, why do you ask?"

Even his speech was different. Respectful, eloquent, but still to the point. This was concerning to say the least.

"Ummm, no reason Ranma, just you seem to be different this morning."

"Ah, it's because I've made a decision last night."

At those words, Genma spoke up.

"What kind of a decision are you talking about, boy?"

"Everyone that the decision affects will all find out at the same time."

Nabiki, while finishing her meal, tried to figure out how to turn this to make her some money. His not telling everything or mentioning what the decision was about was no help at all. She would just have to sell what little she did know and see if that helped.

Genma immediately jumped to the conclusion that he had made a decision to marry Akane. He started patting Ranma on the back.

"Glad to see you have finally decided to marry Akane."

With those words, the Soun waterworks started up with Genma and himself cheering about the joining of the schools. Ranma said nothing, just finished what little was left on his plate, and began to clean up the table. Kasumi began to stop him, but the forced smile stopped her again when he looked at her. Akane noticed Ranma looking at her sister weird.

"What are you looking at Kasumi like that for, you pervert? And what makes you think I will marry you, anyway?"

Ranma looks up from his cleaning the table, with a slightly confused expression on his face.

"What are you talking about, Akane? Looking like what?"

As he says this, he picks up the last few dishes, and begins to walk into the kitchen.

"Don't walk away when I'm talking to you, you stupid pervert."

He doesn't respond to her as he comes out of the kitchen. She sees the same smile on place on his face, for some reason, this sends her over the edge. Pulling a huge mallet from thin air, she begins to swing it at him.

"RANMA NO BAKA!!!"

Right as the swing reaches him, he holds up one finger, stopping the mallet. Everyone, including Akane is too startled by this to move. With the mallet stopped, Ranma walks around Akane and heads upstairs to get his bags for school. When he comes back down, they are all still in their same spots, except the mallet is gone and Akane looks extremely confused.

"Better hurry, Akane, or we will be late for school."

She starts to move then, with a shell-shocked expression on her face, to get her school bags. Everyone else remains sitting at the table. As the door closes from Ranma leaving, the words "Oh, my." are heard followed by the sounds of three people face-faulting.

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The walk to school was surprisingly quiet. Ranma had effortlessly dodged all splashes of cold water, with what looked like no effort or conscious thought on his part. When they reached the school, Tatewaki Kuno jumps towards Ranma with his boken swinging down at his head.

"Evil Sorcerer Saotome, I will smite thee and free theeeeeeeee…"

This last was because as he swung, Ranma had reverse spun to the right, bringing his elbow around to catch Kuno in the back of the head, sending him flying towards and then through the wall surrounding the school. As soon as he had connected, he had continued to walk as if nothing had happened. Gosunkugi, seeing this, decides today probably isn't a good day to go after Akane.

School that morning was quiet, mostly because of the disconcerting affect of Ranma sitting up and appearing to be attentive in class. This was confusing even the teachers. All decided not to say anything, in case he stopped paying attention, though.

At lunch, he didn't do his usual jump out of the window. Instead, he picked up his books and slowly walked out the door with everyone else. Akane's friends walked up and asked her if anything was wrong. She just shook her head slowly saying, "I wish I knew."

As Ranma slowly walked to the tree he usually ate lunch under, Shampoo and Ukyo, both of whom had been waiting below the window for him to jump out, went towards him. Shampoo jumped towards him, intending to glomp him, but caught nothing but air as he was no longer there. She blinked and looked around to find him next to the tree sitting down. Ukyo blinked, she had never seen Ranma dodge a glomp by Shampoo or move that fast outside of a fight. She walked over to him as Shampoo stood up and slowly walked over as well, confusion apparent on both of their faces.

"Ranma-baby, are you okay?"

"Airen okay?"

He looks up as if just noticing that they are there.

"Hello Ukyo, Xian Pu."

Both stopped to look at him. Something was seriously off. Ranma wasn't acting normal at all. Both stepped forward cautiously and felt his forehead.

"Airen not be sick. What be wrong, Airen?"

"Maybe we should take you to see Doctor Tofu, Ranma-baby."

"Don't worry, nothings wrong with me, I've just made a decision last night."

Both were startled at that news.

"What kind of decision, Ranma-baby?"

He looked up at both of them with a forced smile.

"Don't worry, everyone the decision affects will all know at the same time."

His statement shocked them. They both sat down next to him, without trying to force their food on him or glomping him.

As the lunch period was close to ending, Ranma stood up and began to walk towards the building.

"Xian Pu, Ukyo, have a nice day."

With that, he entered the building.

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After school, he slowly walks home, Akane nearby, but neither saying anything. Halfway home, Akane finally can't stand it anymore.

"What's wrong with you, Ranma?"

"Nothing, why do you ask?"

"There's not nothing wrong with you, you are acting completely different than normal."

"Hmmm, I guess I hadn't noticed."

With that he began to walk faster along the top of the fence. As he was walking, he suddenly did a forward flip. Halfway through the flip, a mallet flew through the spot he had been standing. As soon as he completed the flip, he continued on as if nothing had happened.

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At the Tendo residence, Ranma stops and knocks on Nabiki's door.

"Come in."

Ranma opens the door and walks in, closing it gently behind him.

"What can I do for you, Ranma?"

"I would like you to do me a favor."

Nabiki raises an eyebrow at this.

"What sort of favor?"

He pulls out an envelope.

"I would like you to hold onto this for me, and if I'm not back by dusk, open it and read the contents to everyone. I will give you 900 yen if you do this for me. If I make it back before then, though, I want to letter back unopened. You can keep the 900 either way."

After saying that, he hands her the envelope. She shrugs and puts it on her dresser.

"Okay. I guess you are going out, then, until dusk?"

"Yes."

With that, he left the room. Nabiki goes back to reading her book, completely forgetting about the letter.

After he leaves Nabiki's room, he heads into the room he shares with his father, grabs his pack, and jumps out the window. He heads towards the east to the temple that is just outside Nerima.

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The temple was in bad shape, it hadn't been used in decades. The last person to check on it had been four years ago. Everyone could see it as it was on top of a hill with no trees to hide it; however no one went to it. No one even really thought about it. Ranma felt at peace when he stepped beyond the final arch at the top of the steps. He walked towards the temple and into it from the front. Upon reaching the center, he sat his pack down and pulled the tanto out of it. He still had fifteen minutes till dusk. He pulled his shirt off and sat it to the side. Then pulled a towel out of his pack and sat it down on the ground and kneeled on it. He had a clear view of the sunset as the entrance he had walked through faced directly west. When the last bit of the sun went below the horizon, he stabbed with the tanto.

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Xian Pu, Mu Tsu, and Elder Khu Lon all looked up at the same time. Something was wrong. Something had happened to Ranma. Suddenly, Xian Pu and Mu Tsu both passed out and fell to the ground. Elder Khu Lon felt like passing out, and could only stop herself from doing so for a few seconds longer. After she passed out, all was quiet in the shop. If someone had been there to witness it, they would have seen all three slowly vanish from sight.

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Tatewaki Kuno and his sister Kodachi Kuno were both sitting in their home when something made them both look east. Tatewaki muttered, "Pig-tailed girl," at the same time as Kodachi muttered, "Ranma." At that, they both passed out and vanished.

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Happosai was jumping around and finding all sorts of his precious goodies hanging out to dry when he stopped. Something was wrong with Ranma. He managed to jump twice more towards the Tendo residence before he passed out and vanished.

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Ukyo was bathing when she felt it. For some reason a tear came to her eye and she passed out, vanishing soon after.

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Ryoga didn't know where he was, or why there was snow everywhere in the middle of summer. And why was that weird red and white striped pole here? He walked towards the pole and stopped. Something was wrong with Ranma. He started walking back the way he had come, becoming increasingly tired with each step. He made it almost one hundred meters before he passed out and vanished.

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Kasumi was preparing dinner when she realized she had tears in her eyes. She realized that she was about to pass out and just before she did, she turned off the stove and oven for the meal. She then vanished.

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Suon and Genma were playing anything goes shoji, when both fell over suddenly and passed out, vanishing almost before they had finished falling.

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Nabiki, feeling suddenly very tired and fearful for Ranma, remembered the letter. She managed to grab it just before she passed out and vanished, letter in hand.

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Akane was sitting in her room, wondering where P-chan was when suddenly Ranma came to mind, with how weird he had been acting all day. She stood up to go look for him, but fell over almost immediately. She passed out and vanished as she touched the ground.

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Nodoka was sipping tea when she thought of Ranma. She reached over and grabbed the Saotome Honor Blade right when she passed out. She vanished soon after.

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Elder Khu Lon was the first to awake, followed closely by Happosai. She saw that she was kneeling at a very large round table. Sitting around the table counterclockwise from her were Xian Pu, Mu Tsu, Nodoka, Genma, Suon, Kasumi, Akane, Nabiki, Tatewaki, Kodachi, Happosai, Ryoga, Ukyo, two empty seats, and herself. The most disturbing thing though was the crystal statue of a cat in the center of the table. Inside was Ranma, shirtless, slowly shifting between his male and female forms and back again. He was completely shifting once every ten seconds. She noticed that all the cursed ones were shifting as well.

As people started to wake up, there were mumbled groans from most. Khu Lon was startled to find that she couldn't move anything below her neck. She could move her head around and speak, but she couldn't move her arms or legs. Her staff was sitting on the table in front of her, pointing at the cat statue. She noticed that Xian Pu's bon-bori, Mu Tsu's swords, Nodoka's sword, Genma's sign, Suon's shoji set, Kasumi's frying pan, Akane's mallet, Nabiki's calculator and a letter, Kuno's boken, Kodachi's ribbon, Happosai's sake, Ryoga's umbrella, and Ukyo's battle spatula were all sitting in front of them, all pointing straight at the statue holding Ranma. Khu Lon looked around at the place they were in. Everything was perfectly white. There was no source of light, no shadows, no walls or doors, nothing at all as far as she could see. This was highly unusual and more than a little disturbing. She looked forward and studied Ranma. He appeared to be unconscious. What worried her though was the thin red line going across his/her stomach. It looked like a cut, but it wasn't bleeding.

"What foul magic is this that binds the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High?"

The voice of Kuno disturbed her contemplation of the statue. What disturbed her more was the voice that answered him echoing in each of their minds.

"_It is my magic which binds you, child. I bound you all to answer for your actions against this Pure Soul."_

"Who are you? And what is a pure soul?"

Nodoka seemed to voice the questions all of them were thinking. The answer was short in coming.

"_Names have little meaning to my kind. But you will need something to call me, so call me Dimitrios. I am an elemental demon of air. I am charged with the avenging of all Pure Souls. Lucky for me there are so few in the world. Unfortunately, all of them attract chaos as a lodestone attracts metal. As to what a Pure Soul is, it is a human that does it's best to protect and care for all those around it, even its enemies. They do not want to harm others if they can avoid it; however they are often forced into situations in which they must harm others. Most die young and live dangerous, if short, lives. This is the first time one has tried to commit seppuku, which is what brings me here and causes you to be bound as you are."_

At his last statement, many gasped in shock. They had known something was wrong, with the exception of Ryoga and Happosai, but they hadn't realized it was that bad. Ukyo spoke next, tears streaming down her face.

"Why would Ranchan commit seppuku? There was no reason for him to do that."

"_It was the only way he saw to save the honor of his family as well as all those he was engaged to at the time. It also assured the protection of all those he cared about. His absence would end the constant attacks, those around him faced. Barely did he save Akane Tendo after facing Saffron. All those he cares for have been attacked because of his presence. Some how each of you has suffered due to him being there. These are the thoughts which led him to end his life."_

"Why dost yon pig tailed girl constantly shift with that swine Ranma Saotome?"

"_Child, it has been explained and shown to you again and again. They are one and the same person. His female body is a curse that was placed on him from Jusenkyo. As are the animal forms of all those here that are shifting between two forms as we speak. Each fell in a spring and each was changed permanently. There is no cure. It is not each spring that is cursed, but the area the springs are on. Not many curses, but one large and powerful one. You could not counteract the spring with another, you would only mix the curses. You can only learn to live with the curse as best you can."_

At these words Xian Pu, Mu Tsu, Ryoga, and Genma all seemed to wilt upon themselves, looking downcast.

"So why have you brought us all here?"

Nabiki had put on her 'Ice Queen' expression. She didn't know why they were all brought there, but she knew that they weren't brought here just to talk. She was also sure that she wouldn't like the answer.

"_Ah, now we come to the meat of the matter. My purpose here is three fold. As I have already said, I am a vengeance demon. I first help you to realize the mistakes you have made, punish you according to your crimes, and, finally, free him of all that binds him, such as the debts of honor forced on him by his father and mother, the constant attacks by enemies and allies alike, and the fiancé problem he has. Some of the ways I punish may not seem like it at the time, but I assure you, in time, you will wish I hadn't done it. Now, I shall show you my true form. We will also be joined shortly by my sister. And she is not as nice about punishment as I am."_

Suddenly blue smoke-like energy started to come up next to the empty seat closest to Khu Lon. It began to coalesce and take the form of a human. He appeared to be about six feet tall with pale hair more white than blue that fell to his lower back. He wore a long coat that was blindingly white in color and was belted at the waist. On his shoulders were two guards that looked to be made of a pale blue metal. His hands were covered by pale blue gloves and in his left hand he held the hilt and guard of a sword, but no blade. You couldn't see his face due to the mask he wore. The mask was white and featureless with the exception of the eye holes and the four point light blue star around the left eye.

He slowly looked at each person seated at the table. When he reached Khu Lon, he seated himself next to her placing the sword hilt on the table facing Ranma.

"Now, what say we talk before my sister arrives?"

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A/N: I didn't mean for it to be this long…was supposed to be one shot, but that idea went out the window. I didn't realize how long winded I could be… Well, there will be a second chapter now, hopefully that will finish, if not, I will end up putting my other story on hold till it is finished.

Sorry about the error with Nodoka knowing about Ranma/Ranko. This is the update for that and thanks to Wharpt for pointing that out.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma 1/2. The curses and names for them were made up by me as far as I know, but I still won't lay claim to them either.

All criticism is welcome, however, if you are going to try and flame me, at least be original. There are only so many times you can be told, "You Suck!!!" before it gets boring.

A/N: Only made this because even a pitiless SOB like me has pity for Ranma and want a little vengeance for him. Plus I couldn't continue my other story till I got this one out of my head… hate when that happens. Oh, yeah, this is based after the final wedding attempt stated in the manga. If someone appears OOC, eh, it happens.

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"Now, what say we talk before my sister arrives?"

While not ominous in itself, the way the demon said that caused everyone to shudder in fear. It seemed that everyone needed a spokesperson to ask the questions for them.

"Where are we?"

It appeared that Nabiki had overcome her fear. She had on her 'business' expression which had earned her the nickname 'Ice Queen.'

"We are in a dimension of mine and my sister's making. We are most comfortable here, and find it soothes us when we have necessary tasks such as this to take care of. This is the first it has been used for a purpose quite this…extreme, though. The table, the statue, all change appearance depending upon the person in the center. The statue takes the appearance of the soul of the person. In this case, a cat. Although this could be an after affect of being taught the Neko-ken. Never has a Pure Soul been taught that technique. Especially by a family member. Luckily, that is a technique that only a Pure Soul could learn with their sanity intact."

Nodoka looked puzzled when he mentions the Neko-ken.

"What type of technique is the Neko-ken? You speak as if just teaching it to someone is sentencing them to death."

"The Neko-ken is a technique in which the person taught has to be less than ten years of age. Said person is thrown into a pit of starving cats while covered in various fish products. The technique is learned on the subconscious level. Every time it has attempted to be taught, the person being taught has gone insane, acting like a cat and killing anyone they come across, usually starting with the person teaching the technique. The person, when acting like a cat, uses claws of pure chi, and can cut through anything. In the case of a Pure Soul, though, the technique only comes out when the Pure Soul is confronted with their fear, in this case cats. The Pure Soul will act like a cat until either a short time after all of the cause of the fear is gone, or until something shocks his or her system. Activating Ranma's curse seems to do the trick, in this case. The more he uses that technique, though, the less likely he will snap out of it, even with activating his curse. I think you can figure out which family member taught Ranma this technique."

After explaining that, Dimitrios stood up and began to slowly walk counterclockwise around the table. Nodoka was still in a state of shock from what she had heard about Ranma. He stopped when he was standing behind Kuno and Kodachi. Both were trying to look back at him, but couldn't turn their heads far enough.

"Tatewaki Kuno and Kodachi Kuno, neither of you seem to fully grasp what is going on. I'm not saying you aren't intelligent, you just do not seem to have the wisdom to apply said intelligence. So, I will grant you both wisdom."

With that, reaches between them and sets to thin necklaces with a small blue gem on each on the table.

"You will be able to move your arms now. But before you pick those up, remember that every gift has its price. The price for this gift will not be paid to me, but yourselves and those you have wronged."

Tatewaki and Kodachi, not seeming to listen to him, immediately grabbed the necklaces and put them on. As soon as they settled around their necks, they vanished. Tatewaki started to open and close his mouth without making a sound with a wide eyed stare straight at Ranma. Kodachi, meanwhile, was also wide eyed, but tears were slowly trailing from her eyes. Ryoga was looking at them curiously.

"What did you do to them? I may not have liked them, but I wouldn't want to see them hurt permanently."

Dimitrios started to speak, but was interrupted by Elder Khu Lon.

"He gave them wisdom, and with it, guilt. They have realized all the evil they have done to others in the past and are finally feeling guilt over it. That may be one of the worst gifts I know to give those two. Any other punishment, they wouldn't really understand, but that one gives them understanding. A very well thought out punishment for them, indeed."

"That is only part of the punishment. I needed to grant them their punishment before I moved on to the main event; otherwise it would have been wasted on them. Normally I do a group punishment, followed by individual specific punishments."

He looked over to his seat suddenly. Everyone, with the exception of Kuno and Kodachi, followed his gaze to see blue mist like energy floating up and coalescing into another human form. This time the person was a five foot tall female. She had blue hair down to her waist. Her eyes were blue/gray. She looked like a normal human except for blue hair. She was wearing very little clothing, but what little she did have on looked like armor. She had on knee length boots and matching waist protectors. Attached to the waist protectors were twin swords with out sheaths. They appeared to be attached magnetically or magically to the protectors. For a top, she had on a halter top with shoulder guards. She was also wearing gauntlets on her hands. All of her items were made of a dark blue metal. She also did not appear to be happy in the least.

"Ah, hello sister, how nice of you to jo…."

"Cut the crap. Are these the ones that drove a Pure Soul to commit seppuku?"

She had crossed her arms over her chest at this point and was directing her frown at Dimitrios. Dimitrios was starting to look a little nervous from the glare he was getting.

"Ah…yes…yes they are."

"Good, are you ready to hand out their punishments?"

"No need to rush, Sister, I was just getting finished setting up for it. Now, if you don't mind, can I do my job without interruptions?"

"Fine, just hurry it up."

With that she sat down in the empty seat in front of her, placing her swords in the empty space on the table. Dimitrios watched her for a while he walked around the table to his seat, but she didn't notice as she was too busy glaring at everyone seated at the table.

"This is my sister, Minerva, and she is an angel of protection for Pure Souls. Of the two of us, she has the harder job in that she must try and protect them from harm, although just guarding them from death is a task in and of itself. She had thought Ranma was going to be one of her few successes, but when he went to commit seppuku, well…"

He looked around the table, and it seemed all of them, including Tatewaki and Kodachi, understood what he was saying and were looking at his sister with more than and little trepidation.

"Now, before my sister decides to take matters into her own hands, I will explain the first part of the punishment you will be gifted with. Most, if not all, of you know about his past and what he has gone through. Well, now, you will get to live it through his eyes, body, and thoughts. But you will not be able to affect any of it."

As he finished speaking, he picked the sword hilt from the table, and held it with both hands at arms length in front of him as if the sword were pointing into the air. After a second, blue energy slowly left the hilt where the sword would be, traveling up like smoke, but staying in the confines of where the sword would be. It seemed to be forming a sword with the energy. After several seconds the energy stopped moving when it was in the shape of a katana with a 5 foot blade. As soon as the katana was complete, everyone blacked out.

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Nodoka could not believe what she was seeing. It was herself, but only younger, and she seemed to be a giant.

'Wait, she's not a giant, I'm a child! What's going on here?'

She felt hands pick her up and was turned around to see a younger Genma.

'I know what this is; this is when Ranma left with his dad on the training trip the first time. He was only five years old then.'

She felt how excited he was to be going on this adventure with his dad. He didn't want to leave his mom, but his dad told him it wouldn't be for long.

'I wish I hadn't let them go. I missed him so dearly since then.'

Suddenly, everything blurs…

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…and when everything refocuses, Ukyo sees herself when she was just a kid.

'This is the first day I met Ranma. I remember that day. I can't believe how mad he made me.'

She saw through Ranma's eyes how he would take okonomiyaki from the grill just as it was done cooking and run off with it. She couldn't believe it, but he actually thought it was all a game.

Everything fast forwards for a minute. Now she was sitting in Genma's lap and he asked her which she liked more, Ukyo or okonomiyaki. Ranma didn't understand the question, so he went with his stomach.

"Okonomiyaki."

Suddenly everything faded out again…

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…and everything refocuses for Ryoga to realize he is being held over a pit by his shirt.

'Who's holding me up? And why does this pit stink so much?'

Suddenly he hears a yowling sound come from the pit. And then more yowling, as if dozens of cats are in there. Next thing he knows, he's falling into the pit and the top is covered. It's dark and suddenly there is the hissing of angry cats. There all around him and coming closer. One claws his arm. Another bites his right hand. Now they are all over him, clawing and biting. After that, he passes out.

He wakes to find himself over the pit again, this time still wounded and hurting from the first time. Before he can speak or do anything, the hand holding him up lets go again. This time he manages to look up and see Genma as he pushes the boards back over the top of the pit.

'I don't believe it. He actually put Ranma through all this?'

As soon as the felt the claws start to tear into his flesh again, everything faded.

------------------------------------------

As it goes along, it fades into and out of dozens of scenes of running from villages, stealing from people, starving while Genma either drank sake or ate all the food because Ranma wasn't fast enough to keep him from stealing it from him.

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As the scene faded in again, Akane saw many different pools of water, all of them with bamboo poles sticking to the air. Nearby, the guide was rattling on about how the pools were cursed, but her and Genma ignored him and jumped onto the poles. Once up there, the started to battle. She couldn't believe how fast she was or Genma either. Next thing she knows, she knocked Genma into a pool of water. She knew what was going to happen next, but to see it was still amazing. Out of the pool hops an angry panda.

Ranma is surprised and doesn't know how to react to this and is knocked into a pool as well. Akane feels a strange tingling and slight numbness throughout her body. Suddenly, she remembers that she swims like a rock. But the body reacts on its own and swims towards the surface. When she breaks the surface and climbs out, she finds she is in Ranma's female body and very disoriented. She jumps up and starts attacking the panda, chasing it around the pools of water.

As they are running along, they see a boy with a leopard print bandana in the way. He gets run into by the panda and further knocked of the cliff they were on by her. They hear a splash, but ignore it in favor of revenge on the panda. Shortly after, she loses sight of the panda.

Again, the scene fades…

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The scenes fade into and out of Ranma's life, leaving the viewers feeling as if they had lived that moment themselves. The constant attacks, the verbal assaults, the use of honor against him. All of it adds up in each of them. Finally the last scene appears. It shows Ranma sitting in an old abandoned temple facing the sunset with no shirt on. He is kneeling on a towel with a small tanto in his hand. As the last rays of the sun sink into the horizon, he plunges the knife into himself. They all feel the pain as it cuts the flesh. The scene suddenly fades.

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As they awaken, they see they are sitting at the table again. Xian Pu, Ukyo, Nodoka, and Kasumi are crying. Akane just has a shocked expression on her face. Tatewaki, Kodachi, Khu Lon, and Ryoga are all glaring at Genma. Suon is staring at Genma in shock. Even Nabiki looks disgusted at Genma. Genma is looking around at everyone nervously.

Minerva looked like she wanted to hurt all of them. Dimitrios was a mystery though, as his face couldn't be seen.

"Husband, when we get back, we are going to have a long talk."

The sheer venom in the voice even froze Suon in place. Genma turned pale.

"WAAAAA. What an honor-less boy, putting his father into such a predicament. WaaaaaURK."

Genma suddenly stops wailing when he feels a hand on his right should and a blade resting on his left shoulder. He looked over to see that Dimitrios was no longer at his seat, nor was his sword hilt sitting on the table.

"Genma, I see you have not understood the lesson involved here. That isn't really a surprise, since you did know most, if not all of it as you are a major cause. As you don't seem to understand the word honor, I feel it is my responsibility to teach it to you."

The sword leaves Genma's shoulder. Next he feels a necklace being placed around his neck. As soon as the full weight of the necklace settles, it vanishes.

"Wha...what…did you do to me?"

"That necklace was only symbolic of the curse I just placed on you. In this case, every time you attempt to use honor against someone, do something honor less, or call someone honor less, it will shock you. Every time you do that, it will double in power. Eventually, if you don't change your ways, you will die."

At this point, Minerva stands up and begins to walk over as well.

"I would like to add something to that, brother. Since this…person…seems to look down on women as weak, I believe that a little something extra is in order."

"What do you have in mind, sister?"

"Just this."

With that, she places her hand on top of Genma's head and Genma begins to shrink and change. Within seconds, a cute, eighteen year old girl is sitting in Genma's seat. She's dark haired and has Genma's spectacles on.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME???"

"I turned you into that which you despise. Fitting punishment, in my opinion."

"Fitting indeed, sister, but is his…er…her Jusenkyo curse still in place?"

"Yes, she will still turn into a panda with cold water, but it will also be female. On top of that, I sealed away all of her martial arts skills. Now she is nothing more than a normal human. If she wants this to be lifted, she has one year to learn how to be a proper lady. If, after that year is up, she hasn't learned her lesson, then it will be permanent."

"Well, since we have already started on it, we might as well explain and finish. As of this point, I will be going around and not only gifting you with punishments, but also explaining what you did wrong. Well, most of you, two, I have already punished, and certain ones will not be punished outside of what has already happened. Genma was cursed because he was using his son as a means to get a free ride from life. He learned a little too well from his master, Happosai."

Dimitrios began to slowly walk around the table until he was standing behind Ryoga.

"Ryoga Hibiki, you are"

"I understand."

"You do? What do you understand?"

"That I'm a hypocrite. Ranma has been through worse times that I can even begin to imagine. I have done nothing but make it worse for him."

"So you do understand the lesson. So what are you going to do about it?"

"I'm going to do my best to make it better for him, and I will apologize for my attacking him."

"Good. You, of course, know I will still be giving you a punishment?"

"Yes."

"Okay, your punishment will be an addition to your current directional curse. At the moment, you just wander around the planet at random, well, now you will also randomly teleport to other planets as well. Nowhere you can't survive. However, in your case, the way to break this curse is to make it to Ranma and ask his forgiveness. When he grants it, then your problem with directions will be completely gone."

With that, he places a small necklace around Ryoga's neck. When he releases it, it vanishes into Ryoga. After that he begins walking around the table again. This time he stops behind Happosai.

"Happosai, your punishment will be the most painful, psychologically. You gain your power from your lust for women's lingerie and groping women. Well, not anymore. Now you will lose power whenever you do anything like that. And to top it off, let's add this to it."

With that, Dimitrios snaps his fingers. Blue energy comes from the ground and envelopes Happosai. After a minute, it disappears, leaving a woman that could easily pass for a supermodel. She was very sexily dressed and appeared as if she were about to pass out from exhaustion.

"Don't worry, she's just exhausted from the affect of the curse, since she is wearing lingerie underneath the clothes she has on. She has the same amount of time as Genma to learn to be a proper woman and repent her actions when she was a guy. If she doesn't, it will be permanent as well."

With that, Happosai passed out. Dimitrios shrugs and begins to walk around the table again. This time he stops behind Suon.

"Suon Tendo, you have given up and let chaos reign in your family. Your oldest daughter had to give up her dreams to support the family. The middle child gave up her emotions and morals to bring in money for the family, and the youngest became a spoiled brat that believes that she is always in the right. You knew about the problems your family was having and you did nothing for them. You let your grief for your wife override your duty to your children. From now on you will have to earn everything you eat, drink, or enjoy. If you do not earn it, it will bring you no fulfillment. Food with taste like ash, drink will not quench your thirst. This punishment will last until you can go one year without activating it."

Suon just nods his head slowly. Dimitrios moves to stand behind Akane.

"Akane, your lesson will be, by far, the most painful physically. I have used this curse so often as a punishment, that I even have a name for it. Precognitive Karma. Normally, when you do something to someone, it is returned to you seven times eventually. This curse reads your thoughts and actions and punishes you before you can cause harm. Let's say you were going to hit Ranma with your mallet, instead, before your mallet would even appear, you would feel seven times the amount of pain as if you would have hit him. You won't die from it, but you may wish you had. This is so you will eventually learn to control your temper, think about your actions for you act, and hopefully become a better person. I would also recommend tasting your own cooking before you let anyone eat it. Even the best cooks do that and it will help to improve the taste of your cooking. Remember, Akane, no matter how good you are at something, there is always someone better. Everyone has that over them. No matter how powerful Ranma is in martial arts, if Khu Lon were to go all out against him, he wouldn't last twenty seconds. However, if Ranma were to lapse into the Neko-ken, then he would beat Khu Lon no matter what technique she used."

Akane looked over to see Khu Lon nodding along with what Dimitrios was saying. As she looked over, she felt Dimitrios put a necklace around her neck, which promptly vanished. With that, he moved to the next Tendo sister.

"Nabiki, while your intent was most admirable, your methods left quite a bit to be desired. You used blackmail, extortion, and, in essence, child pornography to make money for your family."

"What do you mean child pornography? I never did that?"

"Oh? So what do you call taking pictures of partially clothed underage females and selling them is called? 'A rose by any other name…' Many instances, you made things worse for Ranma by your schemes. Yes, they did make more money for your home, and, yes, you did need the money because those two were now living with you and causing more costs to your family. The last scheme did prevent them from being put into an unwanted marriage, but you could have gotten your sisters or yourself killed by the actions of the people you sold the information to. For a lesson, you will have a two part. Every time you do something that is morally wrong, you will be stuck unable to display emotions for a week. During that time you will be like a robot, no emotion, no enjoyment, nothing. The other part is during the night, you will dream and see the possible future for you if you don't change your ways. You won't remember details, but you will remember the ends you come to. The reason I am so light on your lesson is because you believed that the ends justify the means. Hopefully you will learn that that is not the case."

With that, he steps behind Kasumi, who is still crying from what she saw of Ranma's past.

"Kasumi, what have you learned so far?"

"That…that I could have done so much more for him. I knew everything that my sisters did, and my father, and I did nothing to stop them. Only once did I try and after that I never tried again. I could have made it safe for him in the home, but I didn't."

"It's alright, Kasumi. Your actions were what kept him stable as long as he was. You were the one person he knew he could come to if he needed something. He didn't want to burden you with his problems though. So your lesson will be one in taking charge of your life and those around you when they need it. For that, you will be in charge of both Genma and Happosai. You will be the one to teach them and train them. Their failure to learn will not reflect on you though. I only say that because I know you will try your hardest and if they do not change, it would break your heart. Take good care of them."

Kasumi wipes the tears from her eyes slowly as she nods her head.

"I will do my best."

Dimitrios pats her shoulder and begins to walk around the table yet again. He stops behind Khu Lon.

"Elder Khu Lon, you have let your great granddaughter and Mu Tsu act as they will and through their actions, have brought shame onto your tribe. You know right from wrong, and could easily have solved this mess. However because the way to solve it would not have ended with Ranma being part of the tribe, you decided against it. Your lesson is quite simple. You will be responsible for the actions of Xian Pu and Mu Tsu as well as teaching them proper bearing and actions as befit their tribe. If you don't do this, I will see to it that the tribe is disbanded. Their actions from now on will directly reflect upon you."

He turns to look at Xian Pu and Mu Tsu.

"Anytime you do something that reflects poorly upon your tribe, you will be stuck in your cursed from for two weeks. Hot water will not change you back, until those two weeks are up. Anything you do during that time that reflects poorly will add two weeks to the amount of time you will spend in that form."

He moves to stand behind Nodoka.

"Nodoka Saotome, you abandoned your child with a death threat if he wasn't a 'man among men' upon his return. In addition, your idea of a 'man among men' is looked down upon in this day and age. You never cared what kind of training your husband put him through during that time; all you cared about was grandchildren. You could have easily stopped the madness that surrounded your son, but didn't due to using honor against him as well. Furthermore, upon meeting him again for the first time since you abandoned him, you were ready to kill him for a curse he had no control over receiving. I have no lesson for you, as you have learned from the mistakes you made in the past and will not make them again."

He walked to stand behind Ukyo.

"Ukyo Kuonji, you were forced to live your life as a boy due to Genma and your father's deal. At first you were out for revenge on Ranma, but later changed to being a fiancé. Instead of the friend he needed, or asking him if he wanted anything like that, you, instead, forced your feelings and wants on him. He no longer had a friend he could ask for help, instead he had another fiancé. There is no honor lost if you don't marry him. Your families honor was lost and properly punished when Genma and your father made the arrangement and Genma stole the cart. Your father knew that Genma had already set up a fiancé for Ranma when he made the deal with Genma. Genma, although he didn't mean to do it, properly punished your father by stealing the cart which was set as the dowry. If you truly love Ranma, prove it by not treating him as a prize to be one, but as a person whose opinion and thoughts count and matter to you. This goes for all four of you."

He looks at Xian Pu, Akane, and Kodachi. After that, he walks over and sits down.

"Now to deal with the fiancé problem. I have already explained Ukyo's claim. Kodachi, there never was a real honorably claim for you. Xian Pu, when he defeated Herb of the Musk tribe, an enemy of your people, he was powerful enough to take on and defeat your tribe's most powerful warriors with the exception of the Elder's. When he defeated and killed Saffron, he became a blooded warrior with full rights within your tribe. In addition, he defeated a godling and with that level of kill he had full rights as an elder if he did come to your tribe. The first one alone freed him from any Kiss of Marriage or Death. The other two sealed the deal, so to speak. Khu Lon, would you rather have him as a full ally of the tribe or as an enemy?"

"An ally would be much preferred to having son-in…Ranma as an enemy."

"Good, I would hate to see your honorable tribe be destroyed, even with the actions of these two. Suon Tendo and Genma Saotome, your actions have dishonored the deal between you so many times that such a deal no longer exists. In addition, as there is no heir to your branch of the school, Suon, how can the schools be merged. Akane is far from even mediocre martial artist. You have never trained her in your style nor disciplined her attitude for the martial arts. At best she is a thug and a bully."

"I…I see."

Suon sighs deeply.

"Also, know this, Ranma was able to hear everything we said and did. So none of you will try to back out of any of this. And with that, I bid you farewell."

Dimitrios claps his hands and everyone passes out and vanishes. He looks at Ranma for a minute and, with a wave of his hand, dispels the cat statue surrounding him. Ranma's body floats down till he is sitting in the center of the table. The red line on his stomach disappears.

"Ranma, you now have a choice to make. While we can't completely remove your curse, we can give you control over it so you can change at will, we can separate you and your cursed form into two different bodies, we can let you die and move on, we can send you to a different dimension or timeline to live out your life, or any of the above. It is your decision."

"You can separate the bodies? How would that work?"

"Ranko, your female form, would have her own personality and soul, but she would only be as old as your female form is. Think of it as now having a little sister. She would be linked to you by blood so that is the best way to treat it."

"Would it be possible to send me back as I am now?"

This shocked Dimitrios and Minerva.

"Why would you want that?"

"Well, everything that has happened to me, has made me me. If I can now control my form or separate, I wouldn't be me anymore. If I die, it would break quite a few of those that care about me. Same if I went to a different dimension or timeline. So I would like to go back as I am right now."

Minerva looks at him for a minute, before smiling.

"I don't see a problem with this, brother. Do you?"

"Possibly. What are you going to do if things get this bad again?"

"I'll solve it myself. I can't let it get that bad again. It should have never gotten that bad in the first place. Problem is, most of that stuff I couldn't fix without hurting someone."

"I see you learned your lesson as well. We were more than happy with helping to fix your problems, even if the way you got our attention was a little on the dramatic side. One last thing before I send you back though. The Neko-ken is starting to take over more control of your mind. You need to master it soon, or it will master you. Goodbye, Ranma."

Minerva stepped onto the table and walked to where Ranma was sitting. Suddenly two white wings spread from her back, easily 5 meters in spread. Minerva leans down and kisses his forehead. With that, he vanishes.

"Do you think everything will be okay, sister?"

"Not really, brother, he will attract chaos to him, no matter how careful he is."

"I guess we need to keep a closer eye on him then, eh sister?

Minerva laughs.

"True, brother, all too true."

At that both laugh for a minute before vanishing.

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A/N: Looks like it's going to be a three parter…damn my long windedness. I'll even throw in an Omake Ending for it since this one won't get out of my head. Till next time…

24 Jul 2007 Edit.

Change of plans. After looking at it and thinking about it for several days, I realized that I can't end it any better than I have already. Blame it on my lack of skill at writing if you want, but anything else I do will actually make it worse. Like a running gag that ran for too long. I may do a sequel to it, if I have enough inspiration, but don't hold your breath. Later all and sorry for the way it ends if you don't like it.


End file.
